The Wonderful Adventures of Nils 1732 Studios

Swedish · The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

Västerbotten och Lappland

Västerbotten and Lappland

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  1. 1

    When the boy was at Skansen, he had once sat under the stairs to the Bollnäs cottage and listened to Klement Larsson and the old Lapp talk about Norrland.

    Närwhennär · subordinating conjunctionintroduces the clause of var
    pojkenboypojke · noun, nominative, common gender, singularsubject of var
    varwasvara · auxiliary verb, past, indicative, activeadverbial clause on hade
    påatpå · prepositionpreposition marking Skansen
    SkansenSkansenSkansen · proper noun, nominativeoblique complement of var
    hadehadha · verb, past, indicative, activeadverbial clause on suttit
    hanhehan · pronoun, nominative, common gender, singularsubject of hade
    enaen · determiner, common gender, singulardeterminer of gång
    gångoncegång · noun, nominative, common gender, singularsubject of suttit
    suttitsatsutta · verb, active, supinemain verb of the sentence

    Archaic spelling of suttit, the supine of sitta ("to sit").

    underunderunder · prepositionpreposition marking trappan
    trappanthe staircasetrappan · noun, nominative, common gender, singularoblique complement of suttit
    tilloftill · prepositionpreposition marking Bollnässtugan
    Bollnässtuganthe Bollnäs cottageBollnässtugan · proper noun, nominativeoblique complement of suttit
    ochandoch · conjunctionlinks the coordination
    hörtheardhöra · verb, active, supinecoordinated with suttit
    påtopå · prepositionintroduces the clause of talat
    hurhowhur · adverbmodifies talat
    KlementKlementKlement · proper noun, nominativesubject of talat

    Proper name, Klement Larsson.

    LarssonLarssonLarsson · proper noun, nominativedepends on Klement

    Surname, Klement Larsson.

    ochandoch · conjunctionlinks the coordination
    lappgubbenold Lapp manlappgubb · noun, nominative, common gender, singularcoordinated with Klement

    Dated period ethnonym for a Sámi man, kept as historical vocabulary.

    hadehadha · auxiliary verb, past, indicative, activeauxiliary of talat
    talattalkedtala · verb, active, supineadverbial clause on hört
    omaboutom · prepositionpreposition marking Norrland
    NorrlandNorrlandNorrland · proper noun, nominativeoblique complement of talat

    Region of northern Sweden.

  2. Both had agreed that it was the best part of Sweden, but Klement Larsson liked best the provinces south of the Ångerman River, while the old Lapp maintained that those lying north of that river were the foremost.

  3. 2

    Just as they were talking of this, it came out that Klement had never been farther north than Härnösand, and then the old Lapp had to laugh at him, who spoke so confidently about regions he had never seen.

  4. »I really must tell you a story, Klement, so that you may know what it looks like in Västerbotten and Lappland, in the great Sameland, where you have never been,» he said.

  5. — »It shall never be said of me that I refuse to hear a story, just as it has never been said of you that you have refused to take a drop of coffee,» answered Klement, and the old Lapp began his tale.

  6. 3

    »It happened once, Klement, that the birds who lived down in Sweden, south of the great Sameland, thought that they were too cramped for room, and considered moving north.

  7. 4

    They gathered and took counsel.

  8. The young and eager wanted to set out on the migration at once, but the old and wise carried the point that they should first send out scouts to explore the unknown land.

  9. 'Let each of the five great bird-peoples send out a scout,' said the wise ones, 'so that we may all learn whether we can find nesting places, food, and shelter in the north!'

  10. 5

    Five good and wise birds were at once chosen by the five great bird-peoples.

  11. The forest birds chose a capercaillie, the plain birds a lark, the sea birds a gull, the lake birds a loon, and the mountain birds a snow bunting.

  12. 6

    When these five were to begin their journey, the capercaillie, who was the largest and most authoritative, said: 'There are vast expanses lying before us.

  13. If we travel together, it will be a long time before we have flown over all the land we have to explore.

  14. If instead we travel separately and each examines our own part of the land, the whole business can be done in a couple of days.'

  15. 7

    The other four scouts thought this was a wise proposal, and fell in with it.

  16. It was agreed that the capercaillie should explore the middle land, the lark should travel a stretch farther east, and the gull farther east still, where the land sank into the sea.

  17. The loon undertook to fly a stretch farther west than the capercaillie, and the snow bunting was to travel farthest to the west, along the border of the land.

  18. 8

    In this order the five birds traveled north, as far as the land extended.

  19. Then they turned back and told the assembled birds what they had seen.

  20. 9

    The gull, who had traveled along the outer skerries, was the first to speak.

  21. 10

    'It is a good land up there in the north,' he said.

  22. 'It consists of nothing but a long archipelago.

  23. It is full of fish-rich sounds and wooded headlands and islands.

  24. Most of these are uninhabited, and the sea birds will find nesting places enough on them.

  25. The people carry on a bit of fishing and shipping in the sounds, but not so much that it could disturb us birds.

  26. If the sea-bird people wish to follow my advice, let them move north at once.'

  27. 11

    After the gull, the lark spoke, who had explored the land inland of the coast.

  28. 12

    'I don't understand what the gull means by her islands and headlands,' she said.

  29. 'I have only traveled over great fields and the fairest flowering meadows.

  30. Never before have I seen a land so cut through by so many great rivers.

  31. It was a joy to me to see them, broad and mighty, traveling in calm course over the level plain.

  32. On the riverbanks the farms lie as close together as along a town street, and at the river mouths there are cities, but otherwise the land is very desolate.

  33. If the plain-bird people wish to obey my advice, they should move north at once.'

  34. 13

    After the lark came the capercaillie, who had flown over the middle land.

  35. 14

    'I understand neither what the lark means by her meadows nor the gull by her archipelago,' he said.

  36. 'I have seen nothing but pine forests and spruce forests during the whole journey.

  37. A great many large bogs and many rushing, swift rivers are found there too, but everything that is not bog or river is dark coniferous forest.

  38. I have not seen farmland, I have not seen human dwellings.

  39. If the forest-bird people wish to obey my advice, they should move north at once.'

  40. 15

    After the capercaillie came the loon, who had examined the belt of land beyond the forest region.

  41. 16

    'I don't understand what the capercaillie means by his forest, nor do I know where the lark and the gull have had their eyes,' said the loon.

  42. 'There is hardly any land up there.

  43. It is nothing but great lakes.

  44. Between lovely shores gleam deep-blue mountain lakes, which pour themselves out in thundering waterfalls.

  45. I saw churches and large church villages by some of the lakes, but others lay desolate and undisturbed.

  46. If the lake-bird people wish to obey my advice, they should move north at once.'

  47. 17

    Last of all spoke the snow bunting, who had flown along the border of the land.

  48. 18

    'I don't understand what the loon means by her lakes, nor do I grasp what kind of land the capercaillie and the lark and the gull can have seen,' he said.

  49. 'Up there in the north I have found a great mountain land.

  50. I have come upon no plains, no great forest, but mountain peak after mountain peak, mountain expanse after mountain expanse.

  51. I have seen ice fields and snow and mountain streams with water white as milk.

  52. No fields, no meadows have met my eyes, but grounds covered with willow, dwarf birch, and reindeer moss.

  53. No farmers, no domestic animals, no farms have I found, but Lapps, reindeer, and Lapp huts.

  54. If the mountain-bird people wish to obey my advice, they should move north at once.'

  55. 19

    When the five scouts had spoken in this way, they began to call each other liars and were ready to fly at one another and fight to prove the truth of their words.

  56. But the old and wise birds who had sent them out had heard their reports with joy, and calmed the combative ones.

  57. 20

    'You must not be angry with one another,' they said.

  58. 'We understand from your words that up there in the north there is both a great mountain land and a great lake land and a great forest land and a great plain land and a great archipelago.

  59. That is more than we had expected.

  60. That is more than many a great kingdom can boast of possessing within its borders.'»

  61. 21

    The boy had come to think of the old Lapp's story, because he himself was now traveling over the same land that the man had spoken of.

  62. The eagle had told him that the level coastal stretch spreading out beneath them was Västerbotten, and that the bluish ridges far to the west lay in Lappland.

  63. 22

    Just sitting safely again on Gorgo's back, after all the anguish he had endured during the forest fire, was a joy in itself, but it was also a very fine journey they made.

  64. In the morning the wind had come from the north, but now it had shifted, so that they had a following wind, and no draft of air could be felt.

  65. The flight went so smoothly that it sometimes seemed as if they stood still in the air.

  66. The boy thought that the eagle beat

  67. 23

    and beat its wings without moving from the spot.

  68. Instead, everything beneath them was in motion.

  69. The whole ground and everything on it drew slowly southward.

  70. The forests, the houses, the meadows, the fences, the rivers, the cities, the archipelago islands, the sawmills — everything was on the move.

  71. He wondered where all of that was headed.

  72. Had it grown tired of standing so far up in the north and wanted to move down toward the south?

  73. 24

    Among all this that moved and wandered southward, he saw only one thing that stood still, and that was a railway train.

  74. It stood directly beneath them, and it was the same with the train as with Gorgo — it could not move from the spot.

  75. The locomotive sent out smoke and sparks, and the boy could hear all the way up how the wheels rattled against the rails, but the train did not move.

  76. The forests glided past it, the trackwalkers' cottages glided past it.

  77. Gates and telegraph poles glided past it, but the train stood still.

  78. A broad river with a long bridge came toward it, but the river and the bridge glided along beneath the train without the slightest difficulty.

  79. At last a railway station came traveling along.

  80. The stationmaster stood on the platform with his red flag in hand and was carried slowly forward to the train.

  81. When he waved the little flag, the locomotive sent up even blacker whirls of smoke than before and whistled anxiously, as if to lament that it stood still.

  82. But at that very moment it began to move.

  83. In the same way as the railway station and everything else, it glided away toward the south.

  84. The boy saw how the carriage doors were flung open and the travelers came out of the train, all the while both it and the travelers were moving southward.

  85. But then the boy lifted his eyes from the ground and tried to look straight ahead of him.

  86. He felt that he grew dizzy in the head from looking at the strange railway train.

  87. 25

    But after the boy had sat for a while staring at a little white cloud, he grew tired of this and looked down again.

  88. He still felt that he and the eagle were holding still, and that everything else was rushing away southward.

  89. Sitting there on the eagle's back with nothing else to amuse himself with but his own thoughts, he found it amusing to imagine that all of Västerbotten was in motion and marching toward the south.

  90. Just imagine, if that field which was just now gliding along beneath him — and which could scarcely be more than newly sown, for he saw not a single green blade on it — should travel all the way down to Söderslätt in Skåne, where the rye stood in ear at this time of year!

  91. 26

    The spruce forests had changed up here.

  92. The trees stood sparse, the branches were short, the needles almost black, many trees had bare tops and looked sickly.

  93. The ground beneath them was covered with old trunks that no one had bothered to make use of.

  94. Just imagine if such a forest should travel far enough to catch sight of Kolmården!

  95. Then it would surely feel quite pitiful.

  96. 27

    And that garden he saw beneath him just now!

  97. There were beautiful trees in it, but neither fruit trees nor noble lindens and chestnuts, only rowans and birches.

  98. There were beautiful bushes in it, but no laburnum or elder, only bird cherries and lilacs.

  99. There were also herb beds in it, but they had not yet been tended and planted.

  100. Just imagine if such a little plot should come traveling all the way down to a manor garden in Sörmland!

  101. Then it would surely think itself quite the wilderness.

  102. 28

    Or that meadow, so crowded with so many little gray barns that one might think half the ground must have been given over to building plots!

  103. If it went steering off down toward the Östergötland plain, the farmers there would certainly open their eyes wide.

  104. 29

    But if the vast pine heath now lying beneath him, where the pines did not stand stiff and straight as in ordinary forests, but had bushy branches and rich crowns and had arranged themselves in pleasant groups upon the loveliest carpet of white reindeer moss — if that pine heath should march down to the park at Övedskloster, then that splendid park would be forced to admit that it had found its equal.

  105. 30

    Just imagine, if the wooden church down below him, with walls covered in red wooden shingles, with a gaily painted bell tower, and with a whole little town of gray church-stables beside it, should come dragging past one of the solidly built-up churches of Gotland!

  106. Then they would surely have a great deal to say to one another.

  107. 31

    What was the whole province's pride and glory was its mighty, dark rivers with their splendid valleys full of farms, their masses of timber, their sawmills, their cities, and their mouths crowded with steamboats.

  108. If such a river were to come and show itself farther down the country, all the streams and rivers south of the Dal River would creep down into the ground from shame.

  109. 32

    And just imagine, if such an immensely large plain, so easy to cultivate and so well situated, should come gliding before the eyes of the poor Småland farmers!

  110. Then they would surely hurry away from their meager plots and stone-filled fields and begin clearing and cultivating.

  111. 33

    There was one thing this province had more of than all the others, and that was light.

  112. The cranes stood sleeping on the bogs.

  113. Night must have come, but the light lingered on.

  114. The sun had not traveled south like everything else.

  115. Instead it had gone so far north that it now shone right in his face.

  116. And it did not seem to intend to sink to the horizon that night.

  117. Just imagine if that light and that sun shone over Västra Vemmenhög!

  118. It would surely please cottager Holger Nilsson and his wife to have a working day that was twenty-four hours long.

  119. 34

    The boy lifted his head and looked around, quite bewildered with sleep.

  120. This was indeed very strange.

  121. Here he lay sleeping in a place where he had never been before.

  122. No, he had never before seen the valley where he lay, nor the mountains standing around it.

  123. He did not recognize the round lake lying in the middle of the valley, and never in his life had he seen such wretched, stunted birches as the ones he now lay beneath.

  124. 35

    And where was the eagle?

  125. He could not see him anywhere.

  126. Gorgo must have abandoned him.

  127. This was quite an adventure, indeed.

  128. 36

    The boy lay down on the ground again, closed his eyes, and tried to recall how it had been when he fell asleep.

  129. 37

    He remembered that as long as he had traveled over Västerbotten, he had felt that he and the eagle were holding still in the air in the same spot, and that the land beneath him was marching south.

  130. But then the eagle had turned toward the northwest, the wind had come from the side, he had once again felt the draft of air, and at that very moment the land below had stopped, and he had noticed that the eagle was carrying him forward at tremendous speed.

  131. 38

    »Now we're flying into Lappland,» Gorgo had said, and the boy had leaned forward to get a look at the province he had heard so much talk about.

  132. 39

    But he had felt rather disappointed, since he had seen nothing but great forest lands and wide bogs.

  133. Forest followed bog, and bog followed forest.

  134. The great monotony had at last made him so drowsy that he had nearly tumbled off onto the ground.

  135. 40

    He had told the eagle that he could no longer manage to sit on his back, but had to sleep for a while.

  136. Gorgo had at once lowered himself to the ground, and the boy had flung himself down on the moss, but then Gorgo had closed his talons around him and swung up into the sky with him.

  137. »Go ahead and sleep, Thumbietot!» he had cried.

  138. »The sunshine keeps me awake, and I want to go on with the journey.»

  139. 41

    And although the boy had been hanging so uncomfortably, he had truly dozed off, and while he had slept, he had dreamed.

  140. 42

    He dreamed that he was walking on a broad road down in southern Sweden and hurrying forward as fast as his little legs could carry him.

  141. He was not alone, for a great many travelers were marching along in the same direction.

  142. Close beside him marched rye-stalks with heavy ears atop them, flowering cornflowers and yellow corn marigolds; apple trees puffed along, weighed down with fruit, and after them followed bean vines heavy with pods, great clusters of oxeye daisies, and whole thickets of berry bushes.

  143. Great deciduous trees, beech and oak and linden alike, walked at an easy pace in the middle of the road, rustled their crowns proudly, and gave way to no one.

  144. Between his feet darted the small herbs: wild strawberry plants, wood anemones, dandelions, clover, and forget-me-nots.

  145. At first he thought it was nothing but plants marching forward along the road in this way, but soon he noticed that both animals and people were traveling along with them.

  146. Insects buzzed around the hurrying plants, fish glided in the roadside ditches, birds sat and sang in the wandering trees, tame and wild animals raced along neck and neck, and in the midst of all these walked people, some with spades and scythes, others with axes, others with hunting guns, and others still with fishing nets.

  147. 43

    The procession moved along with joy and cheerfulness, and he was not surprised at that, once he had seen who was leading it.

  148. It was none other than the sun itself.

  149. It rolled along the road like a great shining head with hair of many-colored rays and a face that beamed with cheerfulness and kindness.

  150. »Onward!» it cried unceasingly.

  151. »No one need be afraid, when I am along.

  152. Onward!

  153. Onward!»

  154. 44

    »I wonder where the sun wants to take us,» the boy then said to himself.

  155. But the rye-stalk walking beside him had heard his words, and it answered at once: »She wants to lead us up to Lappland to fight the great petrifier.»

  156. 45

    The boy soon noticed that several of the travelers grew hesitant, slowed their pace, and finally came to a stop.

  157. He saw that the great beech tree halted, the roe deer and the wheat-stalk stayed behind at the roadside, and likewise the blackberry bushes, the big yellow globeflowers, the chestnut trees, and the partridges.

  158. 46

    He looked around to figure out why so many were stopping.

  159. Then he discovered that he was no longer in southern Sweden, but that the march had gone so fast they were already in Svealand.

  160. 47

    Up here the oak began to move forward ever more hesitantly.

  161. It stood still for a moment, took a few uncertain steps, and then stopped dead.

  162. »Why doesn't the oak keep going?» asked the boy.

  163. — »She fears the great petrifier,» said a young, bright birch, who walked along so gladly and briskly that it was a pleasure to see.

  164. 48

    But although many had been left behind, there was still a great crowd that continued the journey in good spirits.

  165. And the sun-head kept rolling ahead of the procession, laughing and calling out: »Onward!

  166. Onward!

  167. No one need be afraid, as long as I am along.»

  168. 49

    The crowd hurried onward at the same pace.

  169. Soon they were up in Norrland, and now it did not help however much the sun called and pleaded.

  170. The apple tree stopped, the cherry tree stopped.

  171. The oat-stalk stopped.

  172. The boy turned to those who had fallen behind.

  173. »Why don't you come along?

  174. Why do you betray the sun?» he said.

  175. — »We dare not.

  176. We fear the great petrifier who lives up in Lappmarken,» they answered.

  177. 50

    Soon the boy thought he understood that they had come far up into Lappland, and here the crowd marching forward grew ever thinner.

  178. The rye-stalk, the barley, the wild strawberry, the blueberry bush, the pea vine, the currant bush had all kept up until now.

  179. The elk and the cow had walked side by side, but now all of these stopped.

  180. The people kept up a little further, but then they too came to a stop.

  181. The sun would surely have been left almost deserted, had not new companions arrived.

  182. Willow bushes and a great deal of other low brush joined the procession.

  183. Lapps and reindeer, snowy owls and Arctic foxes and ptarmigans joined it.

  184. 51

    The boy now heard something coming toward them.

  185. It was a great many rivers and streams rushing along in swift rapids.

  186. »Why are they in such a hurry?» he asked.

  187. — »They are fleeing from the great petrifier who lives up in the mountains,» answered a ptarmigan.

  188. 52

    Quite suddenly the boy saw that ahead of them rose a high, dark wall with a jagged crest.

  189. At the sight of the wall, everyone seemed to recoil, but the sun at once turned its radiant face toward it and poured light over it.

  190. Then it turned out that it was no wall standing in their way, only the loveliest mountains, rising one behind another.

  191. The peaks turned red in the sunshine, the slopes stood pale blue with tints of gold.

  192. »Onward!

  193. Onward!

  194. No danger, as long as I am along,» cried the sun, and rolled up the steep sides of the mountains.

  195. 53

    But on the journey up the mountains, the brave young birch, the strong pine, and the stubborn spruce abandoned her.

  196. Here the reindeer, the Lapp, and the willow abandoned her.

  197. At last, when she was up on the mountaintop, there was no one left but little Nils Holgersson still following her.

  198. 54

    The sun rolled into a ravine where the walls were clad in ice, and Nils Holgersson wanted to follow her in there, but he did not dare go farther than the mouth of the ravine, for inside he saw something terrifying.

  199. Deepest inside the ravine sat an old troll with a body of ice, hair of icicles, and a mantle of snow.

  200. In front of the troll lay several black wolves, which rose up and opened their jaws when the sun appeared.

  201. And out of one wolf's jaws came sharp cold, out of the second came hissing north wind, out of the third came black darkness.

  202. »That must surely be the great petrifier and his retinue,» thought the boy.

  203. He understood that the wisest thing now would be to flee, but he was so curious to see how the meeting between the troll and the sun would turn out that he stood his ground.

  204. 55

    The troll did not move, but only stared at the sun with his dreadful ice-face, and the sun likewise stood still, doing nothing but smiling and shining.

  205. This went on for a while, and the boy thought he noticed that the troll began to sigh and writhe, the snow mantle fell, and the three terrible wolves howled less violently.

  206. But suddenly the sun cried: »Now my time is up,» and rolled backward out of the ravine.

  207. Then the troll let his three wolves loose, and at once the north storm, the cold, and the darkness rushed out of the ravine and began to chase the sun.

  208. »Drive her away!

  209. Chase her off!» cried the troll.

  210. »Hunt her so that she never comes back!

  211. Teach her that Lappland is mine!»

  212. 56

    But Nils Holgersson had grown so frightened, hearing that the sun was to be chased away from Lappland, that he had woken with a cry.

  213. 57

    And when he had come to his senses, he had noticed that he lay at the bottom of a great mountain valley.

  214. But where was Gorgo, and how was he to find out where he himself was?

  215. 58

    He got up and looked around.

  216. Then his eyes fell on a strange structure of pine branches lying on a rocky ledge.

  217. »That is certainly one of those eagle nests, like Gorgo's...

  218. 59

    He did not finish the thought.

  219. Instead he pulled the cap off his head, swung it in the air, and cheered.

  220. He understood where Gorgo had brought him.

  221. This was the valley where the eagles lived on the rocky shelf and the wild geese on the valley floor.

  222. He had arrived!

  223. He would meet Morten Goosey-Gander and Akka and all his traveling companions in a moment.

  224. 60

    THE ARRIVAL.

  225. 61

    The boy walked slowly forward, looking for his friends.

  226. It was perfectly still throughout the whole valley.

  227. The sun had not yet risen above the rock walls, and Nils Holgersson could tell that it was so early in the morning that the wild geese were not yet awake.

  228. He had not gone far before he stopped and smiled, because he saw something so beautiful.

  229. It was a wild goose lying asleep in a little nest on the ground, and beside her stood the gander.

  230. He too was asleep, but it was plain that he had placed himself so close in order to be at hand at the first sign of danger.

  231. 62

    The boy wandered on without disturbing them and peered in among the little willow bushes that covered the ground.

  232. It

  233. 63

    was not long before he caught sight of a new pair of geese.

  234. They did not belong to his flock, but were strangers, yet he grew so glad that he began to sing softly to himself, simply because he had come upon wild geese.

  235. 64

    He peered into a new thicket, and there at last he saw a pair he recognized.

  236. It was certainly Neljä lying there on her eggs, and the gander standing beside her was Kolme.

  237. Yes, surely it was so.

  238. It was impossible to be mistaken.

  239. 65

    The boy would certainly have liked to wake them, but he let them sleep and wandered on.

  240. 66

    In the next thicket he saw Viisi and Kuusi, and not far from them he found Yksi and Kaksi.

  241. All four were asleep, and the boy passed by them without waking them.

  242. 67

    When he came near the next thicket, he thought he saw something white gleaming among the bushes, and his heart began to pound with joy in his chest.

  243. Yes, it was just as he had expected.

  244. In there lay Dunfin so fair upon her eggs, and beside her stood the white gander.

  245. The boy felt that one could tell, even in his sleep, how proud he was to stand guard over his wife up there in the Lapp mountains.

  246. 68

    But the white gander, too, the boy did not want to wake from his sleep, so he went on.

  247. 69

    He had to search quite a while before he came upon any more wild geese.

  248. But then, on a little hillock, he noticed something that resembled a gray tussock.

  249. And when he came to the foot of the hillock, he saw that the gray tussock was Akka from Kebnekaise, standing there wide awake and looking about, as though she were keeping watch over the whole valley.

  250. 70

    »Good day, Mother Akka!» said the boy.

  251. »It's good that you're awake.

  252. Please be kind enough not to wake the others just yet, for I would like to speak with you alone.»

  253. 71

    The old lead goose rushed down the hillock toward the boy.

  254. First she seized hold of him and shook him, then she stroked her bill up and down along his whole body, and then she shook him again.

  255. But she said nothing, since he had asked her not to wake the others.

  256. 72

    Thumbietot kissed old Mother Akka on both cheeks, and then began to tell her how he had been carried off to Skansen and kept there in captivity.

  257. 73

    »Now I must tell you that Smirre Fox, with the bitten-off ear, was sitting captive in the fox den at Skansen,» said the boy.

  258. »And although he had been very hard on us, I couldn't help feeling it was a pity for him.

  259. There were many other foxes in the great fox enclosure, and they seemed to thrive well enough, but Smirre always sat looking miserable and longing for his freedom.

  260. I had made many good friends there, and one day I heard from the Lapp dog that a man had come to Skansen to buy foxes.

  261. He was from an island far out at sea.

  262. They had exterminated all the foxes out on his island, but now the rats were beginning to get the upper hand there, and they wished the foxes back.

  263. As soon as I learned this, I went to Smirre's cage and said to him: 'Tomorrow, Smirre, the people will come here to fetch a pair of foxes.

  264. Don't sneak away then, but stay out in the open and see to it that you get caught, so you'll get your freedom back!'

  265. And he took my advice, and now he runs free about the island.

  266. What do you say to that, Mother Akka?

  267. Was that done to your liking?»

  268. 74

    »That was done in such a way that I myself would have wished to do it,» said the lead goose.

  269. 75

    »Well, it's good that you were pleased with that,» said the boy.

  270. »Now there's one more thing I must ask you about.

  271. One day I saw that Gorgo, the eagle, the one who had fought with Morten Goosey-Gander, was brought captive to Skansen and put into the eagle cage.

  272. He looked pitiful and miserable, and I considered filing through the wire netting over him and setting him free.

  273. But then I also thought about how he was a dangerous robber and bird-eater.

  274. I did not know whether I would be doing right if I set loose such a wrongdoer, and I thought it might perhaps be best to let him sit where he was.

  275. What do you say, Mother Akka?

  276. Was that rightly thought?»

  277. 76

    »That was not rightly thought,» said Akka.

  278. »One may say what one likes about eagles, but they are prouder and more freedom-loving than other animals, and it will not do to keep them in captivity.

  279. Do you know what I now propose to you?

  280. Why, this: that the two of us, as soon as you have rested, make a journey down there to the great bird prison and free Gorgo.»

  281. 77

    »That's just the word I expected from you, Mother Akka,» said the boy.

  282. »There are those who say that you no longer feel any love for the one you raised with so much effort, because he lives as eagles must live.

  283. But now I hear that this is not true.

  284. I will now go see whether Morten Goosey-Gander is not awake, and if in the meantime you'd like to say a word of thanks to the one who carried me back here to you, I believe you'll find him up there on the rocky shelf, where you once found a helpless eaglet.»

The particulars

The text
Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, Selma Lagerlöf. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils.
Translation
Public-domain Swedish (Lagerlöf, d. 1940; published 1906–07). English translation © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.
Words
Every word of the text, by letter.
Data
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Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.